Gas smell in oven

[waternai]

Hello, everybody!
I’m noticing a gas odor in the oven my 1952 O’Keefe & Merritt range. It is odd, because of where the odor is. The odor is only in the oven. No odor at the stove burners, no odor in the Grillevator, no odor in the storage under the Grillevator, and no odor in the broiler under the oven—just in the oven itself. The pilots are lit on the stove and for the oven. The gas for the pilot and burner on the Grillevator are turned off. Everything seems to be working just fine.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestion as to where the gas might be coming from? Perhaps a loose connection in the back of the stove?
I welcome any tips you might had as to where I should begin the search. Thanks for your help!

 

[retro-man]

I guess a good way to start is to use a spray bottle with soapy water and spray the connector of the gas main on the rear of the stove. If it is leaking you will see small bubbles coming off of it. Don't know if you have a flex line connected, but sometimes over age they can also spring a small leak.

Jon

 

[sudsmaster]

I second Jon's suggestion. Gas leaks are best dealt with ASAP, especially in winter when windows are closed.

 

 

 

[waternai]

Agreed

That’s along the lines of what I was thinking, Jon. I do have a flex-line, so we’ll see if that’s contributing too. Thanks for weighing in.

 

[waternai]

Agreed 2

Yes, the winter gas prices and the closed windows had me concerned, too, SudsMaster. The connection does seem to be a good place to start. Thank you!

 

[combo52]

Gas leak in an old gas range

The other likely place for a leak would be in the line that feeds the pilot light for the oven.

It’s not likely this small leak would be dangerous, but it is good to check it out

With a gas range or with gas in your home in general you should have a gas leak alarm they sell these at Lowe’s and Home Depot, etc.

Beautiful range by the way, 1952 was a great year.

John.

 

[Marky_Mark]

To help pinpoint the exact source of the leak, a device like this is useful. I have this exact model. You can set the sensitivity to a level at which it will not show a reading for the ambient gas that is present in the oven due to the small leak. Then you can move the meter along all the possible leak spots until the reading (audible and visual) suddenly jumps up.

 

[waternai]

Thanks John and Mark!

I did notice a small collar with two holes around the feed for the pilot. It turns and seems to cover/reveal a hole in the line for the pilot. I tried turning it, but it didn’t seem to have any effect on the pilot in either the open or closed position. There does not seem to be a gas smell this morning after pulling the stove out last night, looking around, and turning the collar to cover the holes. Getting a sniffer is a good idea, since I have multiple gas appliances. We’ll see what the sniffer says. My smoke detector has multiple sensors, so I’ll have a look and see if it checks for gas, for general safety.

Does anyone know of a service manual for this stove? It’s a model 600-14, if I remember the tag correctly. 600-something, anyway. I’m also looking for a manual on the clocks. I purchased one online, but it didn’t cover repairing the clocks, only cleaning the gears for the motors. I need to know how the clocks should be set up and connected to the oven. They’re mostly connected, but some of the wires were cut in the section lower down in the back of the stove. In addition, the clocks themselves buzz terribly and don’t seem to move, despite the gears being smoothly operable when turned by the knob manually.

I love this stove and its features! I would really only want to trade it for the Town & Country version with more burners and ovens or perhaps a Chambers with the deep well, since I do more of that kind of cooking than I do grilling. Though I must say, when I do use the Grillevator, it’s absolutely fantastic! And it’s nice that I don’t have to make sure the griddle is clear before opening it. What do you like about the 1952 OKM, John? Do you have a favorite stove?